Haugen's criticism reverses his earlier praise of Kitzhaber's decision during an interview with The Oregonian.

He told the Portland-based Oregonian newspaper that Kitzhaber cited some of the same criticism of the death penalty that Haugen has raised.

After further reflection, Mr Haugen said he came to the conclusion that the governor ‘basically pulled a coward's move’ by acting on his personal beliefs instead of carrying out the will of Oregon voters, who reinstated the death penalty in 1984.

Mr Haugen said he learned of the reprieve when he was summoned from an outdoor exercise break at the state penitentiary and allowed to read the governor's statement.

The execution room: Oregon State Penitentiary Superintendent Jeff Premo standing alongside the lethal injection gurney that now won't be used

Mr Kitzhaber called Oregon's death penalty system ‘a perversion of justice,’ saying the state only executes people who volunteer.

Since capital punishment was legalized 27 years ago, only two people have been executed. Both of them, like Haugen, waived their legal challenges.

The Governor encouraged ‘all Oregonians to engage in the long overdue debate that this important issue deserves’ and said he would ask lawmakers to consider potential reforms during the 2013 legislative session.

The 49-year-old inmate said he plans to ask lawyers about possible legal action to fight Kitzhaber's temporary reprieve, which lasts until the governor leaves office.

A Marion County judge had twice signed a death warrant ordering Haugen's execution. The first was reversed when the state Supreme Court intervened; the second was overruled by Kitzhaber two weeks before the December 6 execution.

‘I'm going to have to get with some serious legal experts and figure out really if he can do this,’ Haugen said.

‘I think there's got to be some constitutional violations. Man, this is definitely cruel and unusual punishment. You don't bring a guy to the table twice and then just stop it.’

Over a three-decade political career,
Kitzhaber has built a reputation for charting his own course, sometimes
to the frustration of fellow Democrats and others to the chagrin of
legislative Republicans.

Oregon State Penitentiary: Superintendent Jeff Premo walks through the gated corridors at the jail in Salem

The direct phone lines to the governor and the attorney general are shown on the wall outside the execution room

Politicians
are often hesitant to discuss abolishing the death penalty for fear it
will anger voters, said Richard Dieter, director of the Death Penalty
Information Center.

Mr Kitzhaber's decision might give confidence to leaders in other states, he said.

California
is considering a ballot measure next year to abolish capital
punishment, and death penalty opponents are also hoping legislators in
Maryland and Connecticut will repeal it.

Mr Kitzhaber said he wanted to wait until the legal process played out before announcing his decision.

Prosecutors
have long complained that death penalty cases take decades to make
their way through the courts, but efforts to change the law have been
stymied in the Legislature.

Eight condemned inmates have been on death row in Oregon since the 1980s.